Who are we?

We are a group of friends whose lives have been significantly affected by an affliction affecting one in five Australians - mental illness.

On New Year's Day, 2001, a wonderful, creative, hilarious, intelligent soul named Matt Wardlaw - Mouse to his friends - decided he could no longer bear the pain of mental illness. Tragically, he took the only road he knew to escape. Matt was our son, brother, mate, fiancé, cousin, colleague, and is missed by all that knew him.

Matt's story is not uncommon. Suicide is one of the greatest killers of our young men with rates for males aged 15 to 24 having more than tripled over the past 40 years. Up to 90% of young people who commit suicide have been experiencing depression or mental health problems.

Following Matt's death, One In Five was established. One in Five is a not-for-profit organisation that relies on financial sponsorship from organisations and individuals. It is staffed wholly by volunteers dedicated to:

• generating greater awareness of mental illness; and
• raising funds for research on the prevention and treatment of mental illness.

Our Board
Sonya Adams Marketing Director
Louise James Director
Julia Mason Chairperson
Fiona Somerville Events Director

Our Committee

Andy, Liz, Dave, Mick, Em, Tim & Cath Wardlaw, Lou & Al James, Liz & Pat Harris, Kirrily Frigo, Nina Raymond, Lucy Cleeve, Ryan Wavish, Linda Karafili, Ross Johnstone, Nichole Alfreds, Andy Page, Nicole Kennedy, Bernard Curry


Vision

Our ultimate dream is for Australia to become None in Five


Our Mission

One in Five raises awareness and funds for research projects that are aimed at understanding and treating the causes of mental illness to enable None in Five.